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MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Life and Character 



I Ii:nr\' 1 1 . Starkweather 



(A KEI'RESKNTAIIVE KKuM CONNECTICUT,) 



DEUVtREU IN THE 



Sknati: AM) llousi: or Ki:ri:ESENTATivEts, 



February 24, 1876. 



i'L/DLlbllEU BY ORDER OK CUNURK^. 



WASH I NGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICK. 
1876. 



ADDRESSES 

ON THE 

Death of H. H. Starkweather. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE. 

Friday, January 28, 1876. 

The House met at 12 o'clock m. Prayer by the 
Chaplain, Rev. I. L. Townsend, D. D. 

DEATH OF HON. HENRY H. STARKWEATHER. 

Mr. Barnum. I rise to announce the death in this city 
tliis morning of my late colleague from the third congi-es- 
sional district of the State of Connecticut, Hon. Henry H. 
Starkweather, and to offer the resolutions which I send 
to the Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That a committee of .seven members be appointed by 
the Speaker of the llouse to take order for superintending the 
funeral of Hon. Henry H. Starkweather, late a member of 
this body from the State of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That as a mark of the respect entertained by the 
House for the memory of Hon. Henry H. Starkweather, his 
remains be removed to Norwich, Conn., in charge of the Sergeant- 
at-Arms and attended by the said committee, who shall have full 
power to carry this resolution into efiect. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE nOUSE. 



Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these proceediugs to the 
Seuate. 

Resolved, That as au additional mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased the Uouse do uow adjourn. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

The Speaker, in pursuance of the first resolution, an- 
nounced the appointment of the following committee : Mr. 
Baknum, Mr. Garfield, Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Phelps, Mr. 
IIoAR, Mr. Landers, of Connecticut, and Mr. Ashe. 

And thereupon (at three o'clock and ten minutes p. m.) 
the House, in accordance with the concluding resolution 
just adopted, adjourned. 



February 24, 1876. 

The Speaker. The Chair desires now to say to the 
House that he was notified early this morning by the 
friends of the late Mr. Starkweather, of Connecticut, 
that it was their desire at three o'clock to proceed in the 
House to pay the proper respect to the memory of Mr. 
Starkweather. That hour is now passed, and twenty 
minutes more. What is it the pleasure of the House now 
to do? 

Mr. Phelps. I wish the House now to listen to the 
resolutions of respect to Mr. Starkweather's memory 
which I send to the Clerk's desk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That this House has heard witli deep regret the an- 
nouncement of the death of Henry H. Starkweather, late a 
merabej- of this House from the State of Connecticut. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE. O 

Resolved, That as a testimony of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased, the officers and members of the House will wear the usual 
badge of mouruing for thirty days. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by the 
Clerk to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now 
adjourn. 

Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be forthwith transmitted 
to the Senate. 



^ddress by ^Vlr, Phelps, of Connecticut. 



Mr. Speaker, it has again become the sad duty of the 
Representatives of the State of Connecticut to annoimce 
the decease of one of their colleagues in the councils of the 
nation. The shafts of death have recently fallen with such 
rapidity upon the distinguished citizens of the Republic 
that even the eloquence of eulogy has become common- 
place in these Halls, and it is difficult without repetition to 
select language suitable for the expression of oui- feelings. 
But a few days since we were required to suspend the 
prosecution of our ordinaiy official duties and pay the cus- 
tomary tribute of respect to the memory of one who, at 
the time of his decease, was in the enjoyment of the high- 
est honor which a State of this Union can bestow on its 
most deserving citizen. Now, sir, it is not a Senator who 
has fallen but one of our own members, an honored mem- 
ber of this House, who possessed the respect of us all, and 
the friendship of many of the oldest and most prominent 
members of this body. 

Hon. Henry H. Starkweather died at his lodgings in 
this city on the morning of the 28th of January last. His 
recent invocation in behalf of another to "come quickly" 



ADDItESS BY ME. PHELPS ON THE 



was speedily answered to himself, and his spirit has been 
borne to the presence of Him who gave it. 

He was bora, of highly respectable parents, in the town 
of Preston, Conn., on the 29tli day of April, 1826. His 
father was in moderate pecuniary circumstances, and 
followed the plain but reputable pursuit of agriculture, 
and his son until twenty-one years of age, when not at- 
tending the common schools or teaching in them, assisted 
his father in his woi'k upon the farm. With such oppor- 
tunities for education as he possessed, and with a strong 
desire for learning and a natural intellect of a superior 
order, he acquired a thorough common education, and by 
much and well-selected reading stored his mind with use- 
ful information, which a vigorous and well-trained memory 
enabled him to retain. In that way he acquired a fund 
of valuable knowledge from which, as occasion required, 
he drew in after life and made available in all the exigen- 
cies of his professional and political career. 

His ambition for distinction led him to adopt the pro- 
fession of the law, for which he qualified under the instruc- 
tion of an eminent and accomplished lawyer, now one of 
the judges of the supreme court of the State, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1850. He immediately commenced 
practice in the city of Norwich, and at a bar which num- 
bered among its members some of the most able and 
distinguished practitioners in the State, occupied a respect- 
able position. Like many other young and promising 
members of his profession, he allowed himself to be with- 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF HENRY H. STARKWEATHER. 9 

drawn from exclusive devotion to it by the excitement of 
politics, and after a short practice of ten years, during 
which he had been steadily rising toward distinction, he 
accepted the appointment of postmaster in that city, and 
from that time gave little attention to his profession. 

In politics he was a whig until the disintegration of that 
party, and then actively assisted in the organization of the 
American party, by which he was elected to the lower 
house in the State Legislature iu 1856. He afterward 
aided with enthusiasm in the formation of the republican 
party, was prominent in its councils, and was a delegate 
to the national conventions which nominated Mr. Lincoln 
in 1860 and General Grant in 1868. He was re-appointed 
postmaster in 1865 by President Johnson; but after the 
latter made his celebrated speech on the 22d of February, 
1866, he could not longer consistently retain office under 
his administration, and resigned. 

He was nominated and elected to Congress in 1867, and 
by successive re-elections continued to occupy a seat here 
until his death. The period embraced in his congressional 
service was one of the most interesting in the history of 
the country, and during that period he at different times 
held positions on several of the most important committees 
of the House, and was remarkable for the faithfulness 
with which he constantly endeavored to perform his duty. 
No request from a constituent, however humble, was dis- 
regarded by him, and his known fidelity to duty and his 
conscientious adherence to principle were what most es- 



ADDRESS BY MR. PHELPS ON THE 



pecially constituted the elements of his strength. He was 
quiet and unassuming in his official demeanor, and seldom 
attempted to participate in debate beyond the formal 
statements which were necessary to explain the reports 
from committees which he had occasion to make ; but he 
had, notwithstanding, acquired an influence from his long 
membership and his familiarity with the rules of congres- 
sional proceedings which any member, however long in 
service, may be satisfied to attain. That made him a very 
valuable and efficient Representative, and enabled him 
to acquu-e a usefulness which no inexperienced member, 
however able, can hope to possess. His congressional 
career is familiar to many now here who have been long 
associated with him, and to them I leave the friendly 
office of more ably and particularly illustrating it. 

He possessed an uncommon natural power in another 
respect. He had a remarkably accm-ate judgment of men, 
and an almost intuitive perception of their character. 
This added much to his capacity and influence as a legis- 
lator, and was a material and valuable constituent in the 
composition of the man. 

He also possessed great force of will, and bravely sti'ug- 
gled against the disease which overcame him. He had 
successfully passed through previous severe attacks of ill- 
ness and doubted not he should escape fatal consequences 
from the last. Thi-ough fear of occasioning his family 
unnecessary apprehension, he refused to allow them to be 
inforaied of the severity of his suffering, and as late as 



LIPE AND CHAEACTER OP HENET H. STAEKWEATHEE. 11 

the afternoon before his death addi-essed with his own 
hand, which betrayed no sign of weakness, a few affec- 
tionate and encouraging words to his wife, who, unknown 
to him, was then hastening, in feeble health, but with true 
wifely instinct and devotion, to administer to him the 
comfort of her care and the consolation of her companion- 
ship. She an'ived in season to receive an intelligent and 
affectionate recognition from him, and a few moments 
after he passed from life as gently as the twilight fades 
into the night. He has gone in the pride of his intellect- 
ual strength, before the frosts of age had silvered his 
locks or the hand of time furrowed his brow ; gone in 
the midst of his usefulness, when his sei-vices wei'e more 
than ever valuable and needed. 

There was another prominent element in his character, 
too rarely found in the statesmen of the present day, 
which cannot be omitted without doing him great injustice 
and rendering the porti-aitux-e of his life very incomplete. 
He was a devoted Christian. Disease assailed him at his 
post of duty and soon conquered his weak frame; but 
the invitation from his Master did not find him unprepared; 
"he knew -in whom he frusted." He had in early life 
clothed himself with the armor of faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and that shield and helmet and breast-plate which 
were the panoply of his defense against the assaults of 
the enemy of all righteousness were worn by him in tri- 
mnph to the end. At his obsequies the overflowing chm-ch 
and throno-ed streets, the saddened countenances and tear- 



ADDRESS BY ME. PHELPS ON THE 



ful eyes, spoke eloquently of the universal respect and 
grief of the community who had known him longest and 
best. The benedictions of a bereaved people were rev- 
erently breathed upon his casket. 

Death is under all circumstances a solemn event and can 
scarcely occur to the humblest and most obscure without 
inflicting torture on other hearts ; and while it is true that 
the sorrow of such is sometimes more deep and lasting 
than that of those who move in a higher sphere, yet the 
public are not shocked. But when a citizen whose posi- 
tion and services have made his name familiar is stricken 
down in the conflict of life, with his official armor on, the 
electric announcement which thrills throughout the coun- 
try produces a sensation of public calamity and loss, a 
feeling that a pubhc servant has fallen, the loss of whose 
experience and service is a public bereavement. 

It is a singular fact that the last public act of Senator 
Feny was to pronounce a eulogy upon his colleague. 
Senator Buckingham. It is a more singular circumstance 
that Mr. Starkweathek's last official work was the prepa- 
ration of a similar addi-ess upon Senator Ferry. It is yet 
more singular that before that address was delivered he 
had been suddenly summoned from this world, and that 
paper was read to this House in the place of a eulogy of 
his own by the distinguished gentleman from Ohio, [Gen- 
eral Garfield.] I will leave to others who have finer 
imagination and more fervid speech to paint with glowing 
words the beauty of the closing part of that address, and 



LIFE AND CHAEAOTER OF HENEY H. STARKWEATHER. 13 

to tell how descriptive it was of his own feelings and con- 
dition, how personally prophetic in its application, and 
how truly it sounded like the triumphant strains of the 
dying Christian singing his own requiem. 

In private life Mr. Starkweather was above reproach, 
modest and unaffected in his manner, amiable in his dis- 
position, genial and social in his intercourse, generous to 
his friends, charitable to the poor, just to all. He was 
deeply devoted to those who composed his cherished 
household circle and equally beloved by them. 



ADDRESS BY MR. STETENSON ON THE 



Address by Mr. Stevenson, of Illinois. 



Mr. Speaker, it had been my intention rather to Hsten 
than to take part in these solemn ceremonies. But at the 
request of my honorable friend from Connecticut, [Mr. 
Phelps,] I desire in brief words to add my tribute of re- 
spect to the memory of liim whose loss we deplore. 

My acquaintance with Mr. Starkweather began at the 
opening of the present session of Congress. From the 
first he impressed me as a gentleman of a high order of 
ability, laborious in the discharge of every duty, and 
faithful to every trust. A continuous service in this 
House for more than eight years fully attests the value 
placed upon his services by the people whom he repre- 
sented. The Kecord of the proceedings of this body will 
show that he played no unimportant part in the discus- 
sion and adjustment of the gi'eat questions of public policy 
which have agitated the country during the last decade 
of years. Wrong he may at times have been in his con- 
clusions, but that those conclusions were the result of 
intelligent deliberation and conscientious conviction no 
one who knew him could doubt. But, sir, it is not for me 
to speak more fully of his public services. Others who 



LIFE AND CHAEACTEE OF HENEY H. STAEKWEATHEE. 15 



have known him longer and have been his co-laborers 
here have performed that duty. 

Mr. Speaker, the sad duty devolved upon myself with 
others of this House, under your appointment, to bear the 
remains of our late associate back to his native State, to 
his home and people, and there consign them to their last 
resting-place. The sad yet pleasing recollections of that 
service can never be effaced from my memory. If I had 
doubted the strong hold that this Representative had upon 
the hearts of his people, such doubts would have been 
dispelled by the symbols of grief, the evidences of true 
sorrow we everywhere beheld. For one day all business 
was suspended, public buildings and many private resi- 
dences draped in mourning, while the countenances of 
the many thousands who followed him to the silent grave 
bore unmistakable evidences of deep and lasting sorrow. 

Mr. Speaker, our late associate has played his part in 
this little dl'ama of human life, and the record of his deeds 
here is forever closed. The places that have known him 
upon the earth can know him no more forever. In a 
beautiful New England city, surrounded by the eternal 
hills, among a people who so long honored themselves by 
honoring him — 

He sleeps his last sleep, and 

No soaud can awake him to glory again. 

Mr. Speaker, we moum him as a trusted associate, as 
a faithful public servant, but what must be the bereave- 
ment of those to whom he sustained the more endearing 
relation of husband and father! Within that vale of 



16 ADDRESS BY MR. STEVENSON ON THE 

sacred grief we would not enter; but "may He who tem- 
pers the wind to the shorn lamb" soothe and sustain the 
bereaved in this trying hour. 

Sir, as we pause for a brief moment from the cares and 
duties that press upon us, to pay this last tribute of re- 
spect to the memory of our departed friend, it is a pleas- 
ing thought that to the character of faithful Representative, 
exemplary citizen, and devoted husband and father, he 
added that of a humble, devout Christian. The dread 
summons which came to him, and which we know not 
how soon must come to us all, found him calmly, reso- 
lutely awaiting its approach. 

Mr. Speaker, almost the last act of Mr. Starkweather's 
life was the preparation of the beautiful and touching 
eulogium upon Senator Ferry, which he did not live to 
utter, but which was so impressively read to this House 
but a few days since by my honorable friend from Ohio, 
[Mr. Garfield.] Sir, I know of no more fitting- language 
with which to close these remarks than those prophetic 
words with which he closed his tribute to the memory of 
the dead Senator from his own State: 

It was most beautiful iind grand, amid failing strength and 
long years of pain, to hear him discourse of— 
Rest at last, 

Repose complete, eternal; 
Love, rest, and borne. 

No cloud obscured the efifulgence of his hope or dimmed his 
vision. Clear and high his intellect and his faith rose above all 
storms and darkness, and sustained him in sweet companionship 
amid the unrevealed mysteries of pain. 

Thinking of trials past, and knowing, as we do, how well he 



Lll F, A.N'D CJIAKACTEK OF HENRY 



n, STAEKWEATHER. 



I 



liiul wrougbt for the future, trusting iu tbe merits of his dear 
Lord, he could repeat the sweet lines of Bonar— 
Beyond tlie partiug and the meeting 

I sliall bo soon ; 
Beyond the farewell and the greeting, 
Beyond the pulse's fever beating, 
I shall be soon. 
Love, rest, and home ! 
Sn-eet home! 

Lord, tarry nor, but conio. 
Beyond the frost-ebain and the fever 

I shall bo soon ; \ 
Beyond the rock-waste and the river, 
Beyond the ever and the never, 
I shall be soon. 
Love, rest, and home! 
Sweet home! 
Lord, tarry not, but come. 



I 



ADDRESS BY MR. HALE ON THE 



Address by Mr. Male, of Maine. 



Mr. Speaker, from the day when I first entered this 
House, seven years ago, the deceased member and I have 
been thrown much together. We both served upon the 
Committee on Naval Affairs in the Forty-first Congress, 
and during all the arduous labors of the Committee on 
Appropriations for the Forty-third Congress we sat at the 
same table, engaged in the same work. Still later, (and 
this recollection summons his face before me in clear 
relief,) he sat next on my right in the chair which is to- 
day vacant; and so it came about that I knew him well — 
were it not for that fine reserve which was a feature of 
his character, I should say intimately. 

Like other gentlemen who have served with him on 
committees, I learned to value Mr. Starkweather for the 
faithful services that he brought to every duty laid upon 
him, and for the clear judgment that he displayed in often- 
times conflicting national, sectional, and political interests. 
Through it all he was honest and earnest of purpose, and, 
though by no means an aggressive man in temper, he was 
effective and spirited in maintaining his views, and if ever 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF HENRY H. STARKWEATHER. 



assailed in any manner reflecting on the consistency of 
his pohtical course, he always showed that he was amply 
capable of taking care of himself. 

FTe has left this presence where not a few still remain 
who have served with him, and among them all I venture 
to say there is not one who does not feel that he was 
honest, capable, and faithful. 

His constituents appreciated this high character, and 
manifested their appi-eciation by repeated returns. It is 
no common thing either in Connecticut or in any State 
for a member of this House to be returned here at five 
successive elections. Few higher honors ever fall upon 
an American citizen. From some acquaintance with his 
constituents I have been impressed ^vith the belief that 
their confidence in him has been for ten years a gi-owing 
and not a waning sentiment. 

Like many of our public men, Mr. Starkweather gave 
his best years to the service of his country, and died a 
poor man ; but he has left to his dear wife and children 
that precious legacy, a good name and the memory of a 
well-spent life. 

Upon this floor we have all seen him, attentive and 
watchful ; in the committee-rooms of tliis Capitol, where 
is molded the legislation of forty millions of people, some 
of us have sat by him and have been benefited by his 
counsels. 

The years of his public service have come and have 
gone. They failed not with him, as they fail not with 



ADDRESS BY 5IK. HALE OX THE 



most of US, to deepen the unseen burdens of moitality 
and to sap the strength with which we resist the common 
decav. But out of it all Mr. Starkweather brought none 
or linle of the accumtdations for which many men in other 
walks barter health, honor, and life. 

He was content to do weU his duty, and the recollec- 
tion of his patient life and the protection of a kind Creator 
and Father will, I know, raise up friends for those who 
were dependent upon him and who are well-nigh heart- 
broken at his loss. 

Listening the other day to the deep and fenent words 
which he had wi-itten for an occasion hke this, in memory 
of his deceased friend, the late Senator from Comiecticut, 
in which in rapt language he prefigured the soul's relation 
to the illimitable future, and also looking back, as I now 
do, to the incidents and observations of ever}- -day life, 
which are apt to elude us until after om* friends are taken 
from us, I am impressed with the belief that ilr. Stark- 
weather carried with him, as a constant presence, the 
conviction that death might at any time come to him. 
He was never, or at least not for years, what might be 
called a well. man. Lassitude, weakness, illness, all con- 
spired to drag him down. Against these he always made an 
imcomplaining and manly resistance, and notwithstanding 
them wrought out a life of useful deeds such as few men 
ever compass. 

But, Mr. Speaker, what struggles and misgivings the 
watches of the nig-ht. could thev be laid bare, mig-ht show 



LIFE ±yz> -th:^: 




to a^ we can nev 
bata as diese si 
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know that - 
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combed onlv irhen the lian" 


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the honest. 



ADDRESS BY MR. GARFIELD ON THE 



Address by Mr. Garfield, of Ohio. 



Mr. Speaker, in some respects this Hall is the coldest, 
the most isolated place in which the human heart can find 
a temporary residence. We are in the service of distant 
constituencies, each of us representing the wishes and 
aspirations of separate communities, people with Avhom 
we are far more closely connected than with each other. 
Few of us have been neighbors, or even acquaintances. 
We are here not for each other, but for the public ; and 
the duties of our temporary sojourn are such as necessa- 
rily to keep us isolated from each other. I have often 
been saddened with the thought that in no place where 
my life has been cast have I seen so much necessary 
isolation as here. True, our work brings us together 
every day ; we see each other's faces ; we compare opin- 
ions upon public questions; we divide, combine, clash, 
agree, attack, and defend: but, after all, this life is a 
wonderful isolation. The accidents of connnittee service, 
of the seats we may occupy in this Hall, of the places in 
the city where we may reside — all these frequently deter- 
mine whether we shall really know much or little of each 



LIFE A^T> CnARACTER OF HENRY n. STARKWEATHER. 23 

other. And usually it is difficult, without the favorable 
concui-rence of these accidents, for two bvisy members of 
this House to become very intimately acquainted with 
each other. 

Mr. Staekweathee was a member of this House several 
years before I could say that I had any intimate acquaint- 
ance with him. It was only when our duties brought us 
together upon the same committee that I came to realize 
how much I had lost in the four years during which he 
had been a member of this body. Our service together 
on a veiy laborious committee gave me unusual opportuni- 
ties to study the character of his mind and heart, and to 
know that, in the best meaning of the words, he was a 
true, genuine, manly man. Foremost among his high 
qualities was his unselfishness. He was one of the few 
men we meet in this ambitious tussle of public life who 
is willing to take up a difficult and tangled subject, 
patiently work it out, and put his results into the com- 
mon fund of work as cheerfully and faithfully as if the 
duties and the honors were all his own. Without com- 
plaining, quietly, patiently, and faithfully he did his work, 
finding liis reward in the consciousness of duty well done. 

There was another circumstance that enabled us to know 
more of his character than would otherwise have been pos- 
sible. I have sometimes thought that we cannot know 
any man thoroughly well while he is in perfect health. As 
the ebb-tide discloses the real lines of the shore and bed 
of the sea, so feebleness, sickness, and pain bring out the 



ADDRESS BY 3IK. GARFIELD ON THE 



real chanicter of a man. Who knew better than he the 
sacred ministry of pain? Who fonght more bravely for 
life? Who struggled more com-ageously to do his duty 
uncomplainingly and appear to be well? I have seen him 
in the committee-room in such paroxysms of cougliing that 
it seemed he must die in his chair. Yet, with a rare hope- 
fulness and courage that rejected help, .he waved his fi-iends 
off, as if annoyed that they should notice his weakness. 
Thus, for years, he pushed away the hand that Avas reach- 
ing for his heart-strings, and bravely worked on until his 
last hour. I do not douljt that his will and cheerful cour- 
age prolonged his life many years. 

He was a man of uncommon soundness of judgment, 
of rare common sense. I recently heard one of our fore- 
most scholars and thinkers say that of all the men who 
had made the most enduring impress upon the character 
and history of our institutions, the men of sound judgment 
had done vastly more for us than all our brilliant men 
had accomplished. He noticed especially the example of 
Washington. 

Hamilton was the master of a brilliant style, clear and 
bold in conception and decisive in execution; Jefferson 
was profoundly imbued with a philosophic spirit, could 
formulate the aspirations of a brave and free people in all 
the graces of powerful rhetoric; and other master-minds 
of that period added their great and valuable contribu- 
tions to the common stock; but, whether in the camp or 
in the Cabinet, the quality that rose above all the other 



LIFE AND CHARACTER OF HENRY H. STARKWEATHER. 25 



great gifts of that period was the comprehensive and un- 
erring judgment of Wnshington. It was that all-embracing 
sense, that -calmness of solid judgment, that made him 
easily chief; not only the fifst man of his age, but fore- 
most "in the foremost files, of time." 

I was deeply im[)ressed with this tribute to the value of 
sound judgment, of saving common sense, as'contrasted 
with the more flashing qualities of genius. And I may 
say that our departed friend was girded with a calm, 
balanced judgment that made him a man to be trusted in 
moments of doubt and difficulty. I have known but few 
men who knew so peifectly the drift and current of public 
thoiight and of what would be just right and fitting and 
wise to do. It was this which made Mr. Starkweather 
so valuable a member of the committees on which he 
served. They found him never fickle, always wise, never 
extreme, always steady, having the courage of his opin- 
ions and always ready to defend them. 

He had one experience that almost every man must 
have before his character can be fully tested. He was 
tiled in the fiery furnace of detraction and abuse. I re- 
member well, in that period of assault, how calmly, how 
modestly, and yet how bravely he bore himself — without 
bitterness, without shrinking — boldly meeting all assaixlts, 
calmly answering, bearing himself through the storm like 
a genuine man as he was. That was the test Avhich set 
the seal of character and gave assurance that he was made 
of the real stuff of which genuine, heroic men are made. 



2(> ADDRESS BY IHl. GARFIELD ON THE 

But, after all, we have but small ground to judge of a 
man's real merits here. We can judge of many qualities; 
but if we would know a man's heart and learn how the 
foundations of his character have been laid, we must enter 
that circle where he has been known from his youth and 
in which his life has been developed. Well as I knew Mr. 
Starkweather, I confess that I never knew until we bore 
his body back to his home, and saw his neighbors gathered 
around his bier, how true, how tender, and how noble a 
soul was his. 

We know but little of each other here. Behind this 
public life lies a world of history, of quiet, beautiful home- 
life, within which the religious opinions and sentiments are 
manifested — a world of affection, the features of which are 
rarely brought out in this forum. Who of us knew the 
deep, the profound religious life of our departed friend? 
None of us ever saw anything in him inconsistent with 
the highest religious character ; but who of us had learned 
that at home, in the circle of his family and his church, he 
was a steady, clear light, illuminating the whole circle in 
which he moved, and filling with the radiance of a sweet 
and beautiful religious life the hearts of all who knew him. 
On the evening of his very last day at home, only a month 
before he came here to die, he spoke in his own church, in 
a quiet social gathering, such words as we found were 
echoing and trembling in the stricken hearts of those who 
came to follow his bier. 

Tliere was no reli^fious cant in this man — no ostenta- 



LIFE AND CHAEACTER OP HENEY H. STAEKWEATHER. 27 



tious parade of piety. It was with him, as he said of 
Senator FeiTy, not a sentiment merely, but a controlling 
force, that cleared his pathway and molded his own life. 
And it was this that bowed my soul in reverence and love 
as I stood beside his grave. I believe we may say in 
every good sense of the word that his life has been a 
noble and worthy success, a life that we ought to remember 
for our own sakes and for the sake of our country, a life 
that those who knew him can never forget. 

The resolutions were then unanimously adopted; and in 
accordance therewith (at four o'clock p. m.) the House ad- 
journed. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. 

Thursday, February 24, 1876. 



A iiHssiigc was reorived from the Ildiise of Represent- 
atives inforniing the Senate of the death of Hon. Henry 
11. Stakkweatiiice, late a member of the House from the 
State uf Connecticut, and transmitted the resolutions of 
the Iluuse thereon. 

Mr. En(;i,isii. Mr. President, I a.sk for the reading of 
the resolutions of the House of Representatives. 

The Chief Clerk read as follows : 

In the IIoisE oi- Hei'resentatives, 

February 24, 1876. 

Jicxolred, That the Iloiise lias lii-nrd witli deep regret the an- 
iioiineetnent of the (h-atli of IIenky H. Stakkweathee, hite a 
member of this House from th»Stitteof Connecticut. 

Itmolrcd, That as a testimony of respect for the memory of the 
(lecea.sed the oflicers and members of the House will wear the 
iisnal badge of mourning lor thirty days. 

li'rxolrerl, That a copy of these re.«olntions be transmitted by the 
Cleik to the family of the deceased. 

licmlrcd. That as a further maik of respect the House do now 
adjoiun. 

IiCMolred, That the foregoing resolutions be forthwith trans- 
mitted to the Senate. 

Mr. Engi.ish. Mr. President, in view of the resolutions 
just received from the House of Representatives an- 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. 



nouncing the death of Mr. Starkweather, late Repre- 
sentative in that body from the State of Connecticut, I 
offer the following resolution for adoption by the Senate : 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of Mr. 
Starkweather the business of the Senate be suspended, that 
the friends of the deceased may pay fitting tribute to his public 
and private virtues. 

The resolution was agreed to unanimously. 



AND »IIAi;.\( 



AKKWKATnEK. 31 



y^ddress by JAt. p^nglish, of Connecticut. 



Mr. I'nsident, the Angel of Death in passing' has again 
thrust his hand into our midst and taken from our number 
anotlier member of the Forty-fourth Congress. 

Henuy H. Starkweatiieh, a member of the House of 
ii-liresentatives from tlio tliird congressional district in 
Connecticut, died in this city on the morning of the 28th 
ultimo. 

r>y this sudden dispensation of Providence the State of 
("(.nnecticut has lost one of her most honored citizens 
and faithful jniblic sei-vants, on whose wisdom, experience, 
integrity, and patriotism her people have been accustomed 
to nly, and whose death we mourn to-day, and here and 
now join in paying tribute of respect to his memory. 

l?orn of Christian parents, whose piety was of that 
decided type which prevailed in New England in the last 
generation, he was earl)^ taught to fear and reverence 
God and love his fellow-man. Guided by the prayers 
and counsels of his parents, his life developed into that 
d.votrd and useful Christian character which so much 
ciidcand liim to all of his friends and fellow-citizens. 

Mr. Starkweather was bom in the town of Preston, 



32 ADDRESS BY MK. ENGLISH ON THE 

Conn , on the 29th day of April, 1826. His early years 
were spent in laboring on his father's farm in that town, 
and improving his early educational advantages in the 
public schools, which are open, free, to every child in 
that State. Endowed with fine natural abilities, and with 
a full determination on his part to improve to the best 
advantage the talents which God had given him, he em- 
ployed the time during his minority by cultivating the 
soil and teaching in the public schools, and by diligent 
reading and study he acquired that mental culture that 
enabled him to enter upon the study of his chosen profes- 
sion. In the year 1846 he made the city of Norwich his 
future place of residence, and entered upon the study of 
the law under the guidance of the Hon. Lafayette S. Fos- 
ter, and was admitted to practice in 1850. For several 
years he retained a large and remunerative practice and 
occupied a high position among his professional associates 
of the bar. He was elected a member of the House of 
Eepresentatives in the Legislature of Connecticut in 1856, 
and distinguished himself as a capable and faithful legis- 
lator ; was a delegate to the national republican convention 
of 1860, wliich nominated Mr. Lincoln, and in 1868, to 'that 
which nominated General Grant, for President. He was 
appointed in 1861 postmaster at Norwich, and re-ap- 
pointed in 1865, which office he resigned in 1866, as he 
said in a letter at the time, "that a soldier who had 
fought and bled for his country might receive the honor 
and endowments of the office." He was elected to, the 



'1 JIK.NUV U. STAKKWEATUKR. 



Furtiflli, Forty-lirst, Furty-sccoml, Forty-thinl, and 
Forty-fourtli ( 'ont,m>s«je8 as a rejmlilifaii. 

Mr. Stahkweatiikr early oxliil.ited a taste for political 
lite. TIm-e of his pateniiil uimle.s had been prominent 
lawyers, ami tw.. of them, Hon. David A. Starkweather, 
of Ohio, and lion. (;eor;,'e C Starkweather, of New York, 
had Ijeen momlM-rs of ( 'on-re.s.s, which fact nndoubtedly 
.•♦tininlated him to Htru;:;rle for political honors. By his 
capacity and a.^sidiioii.s attention to all the duties which 
had Wen intnisted to him a.s a Representative in the coun- 
cils of the nation he won the ionfidence and respect of his 
con.stituent.H, and, ait an evidence of their hi«rh sense of ap- 
prtK'iatinn of IiIm m.r\ices as a legislator, he was elected to 
repr«'S4'nt his district in Conpres.s for Hve con.secutive 
terms, and died in the »er\ice. 

As a nu-mher «.f the n.»use of Representatives, Mr. 
Sr.ucKWKATUKK hail the confidence and respect not onlv 
of his constitui-nts and friends at home, l)ut of his fellow- 
memlters in that ]»ody, all of whom honored hin» for his 
cimplieity and Christian virtues, and all who knew him 
testily to his untirin;,^ industry and <lihfrent attention to :ill 
of his oHieial duties. 

Mr. Starkwkatiiek was a modest man, not brilliant in 
s|M-e«h, participatin;: in debate but seldom. lie po.s.se.ssed 
a clear, stmn-,' mind and sound judrrnient, which enabled 
him to readily comprehend all matters of bu.siness liefore 
the IIou.se and »ee it in its proper li{^ht. When his mind 
was onee m:id<' up. it w.is ii..t ea.sv to swerve him from 



34 



ADDRESS BY ME. ENGLISH ON THE 



his purpose. By his quiet manner, by personal solicita- 
tion, by urging measures at the right time, he was very 
successful in making himself felt, and often achieved 
greater results than a more demonstrative orator could 
have done. In a word, it may be said : He was faithful. 
He was capable. He was honest. 

Alas ! he has gone. His voice will no more be heard in 
these Halls forever. With him the voyage of life is ended. 
He has reached that haven at last where the winds cease 
to blow, the waters are still, and where there is eternal 
rest. 



I 



I.IIK AND CIIAEACTEE OF HENRY H. STARKWEATHEB. 35 



Address by Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts, 



Ml-. Presidi'iit, I was the associate and friend of Mr. 
Starkweather during all the time of his service in the 
House, and I therefore deem it my duty as well as priv- 
ilege to briefly bear testimony in this body, to which he 
was officially a stranger, to his great value as a public 
man, as a citizen, and as a friend. He was called to the 
discharge of the duties of a Representative with the well- 
earned reputation of an officer faithful and trustworthy in 
the minutest detail and most difficult complications of a 
responsible public trust ; and he brought to his new woi-k 
the same earnestness and fidelity which had already won 
the confidence of his immediate fellow-citizens. 

There fell to his lot in the distribution of business 
among the members, as is the wont to the willing and the 
faithful, an unusual share of the labor in committee and 
upon the floor of the House. His patient, painstaking, 
and clear, well-balanced mind made him of great service 
in the committee-room, and his candor and plain, straight- 
forward business method gained him great influence in 
the management before the House of the business he had 
matured for its consideration. He made little stir and less 



ADDRESS BY MR. DAWES ON THE 



proclamation beforehand of any effort it became necessary 
for him to make, and after its performance he was content 
to let its merits commend it to the approval of his fellow- 
members and fellow-citizens. 

In all he did, modesty and self-distrust were handmaids 
of usefulness and success. Though no orator, he always 
spoke with effect, and was quite able in debate. What he 
had to say always had about it a directness and simplicity 
of statement and illustration so necessary to profitable dis- 
cussion and for which the House always hungers. His 
usefulness as a member was recognized by his repeated 
appointment by different Speakers of opposite politics 
upon the most important standing committees of the 
House ; and he thus participated largely in shaping the 
important measures brought from time to time before that 
body. 

In all the relations of private life Mr. Starkweather 
won the esteem and personal regard of all who knew him. 
Sincerity and frankness written on his countenance and 
illustrated in all his daily intercourse with his fellow- 
members were the charm of his social intercourse. He 
made no enemies, but many friends, who were attached 
to him till the end by the ties of companionship and 
brotherhood. 

Purity of life and nobleness of aim and endeavor are 
the great lessons he has left for us who are still spared to 
further opportunity and trial. 



:V II. STAKKWEATHER. 



Address by Mr. Sargent, of California. 



Mr. President, Mr. Starkweather entered tlie Fortieth 
CongTe.s.s, iind served continuously until his death. No 
better evidence could be g-iven of the confidence of the 
jK'ople whom he immediately served. He possessed abil- 
ity and industry ; and those who knew him intimately 
knew that he was jjenerous, genial, and courteous in all 
his ri'liitioiis with his fellow-members. But he was so 
iiiiMlcst and retiring in his disposition that his excellent 
;ilii!ities were not always undei-stood, and he was himself 
less known than many members of far less length of ser- 
vice ami inferior capacity for usefulness. 

\'arious circumstances during my service in the House 
of Kepre.sentatives brought me in somewhat close associa- 
tion witTi Mr. Starkweather, and therefrom I had oppor- 
tunity to better appreciate the sterling attributes of his 
character. From the knowdedge of him thus gained I 
saw that he was able and retiring; that he was courageous 
in supporting his own convictions, while fair and generous 
in opposing the views of others; that his immediate con- 
stituents gained direct and exceptional benefits from his 



ADDRESS BY ME. SARGENT ON THE 



industry, Avhile his zeal for the public good did not end 
with their interests. 

The Congressional Globe and Record are not burdened 
with frequent essays from his pen; but on the rare occa- 
sions whereon he spoke it was obvious that his purjjose 
was to influence the minds of his fellow-legislators, and 
he spoke with clearness, force, and precision. 

He was useful as a legislator, sincere and consistent in 
his political convictions, faithful to his constituents, an 
earnest lover of his country, and honest to all men. 



AND CHAUACTER 



KV n. STAKKWEATHEK. 39 



Address by Mr. f^aton, of Ponnecticut. 



Mr. 1 'resident, again, as a Senator from Connecticut, am 
1. conij)elled to the performance of a sad and mournful 
duty. Another honored son of my State has been stricken 
down in liis harness; death came upon him, so to speak, 
while in the performance of his congressional duties. 

Hknky II. Starkweather, a Representative in Con- 
gress from the third congressional district of Connecticut, 
(lied ill Washington on the 2«th day of January of this 
year. 

Mr. Starkweather was born in Preston, county of 
New London, State of Connecticut, on the 2*Jth day of 
April, 1826. 

His parents were respectable but not wealthy people, 
and a life of hai'd manual labor seemed looming up before 
the youth, a life the lines of which were apparently not 
cast in pleasant places. 

The ordinary work of a hard New England fann during 
the summer and teaching a district or common school in 
the winter months occupied his time for several years, 



40 ADDRESS BY ME. EATON ON THE 

when the ambition for advancement, so common to the 
New England youth, assumed control of his mind. 

At the age of twenty-two years, he commenced the 
study of the law, and was admitted to the practice of that 
profession in the county of New London. 

Mr. Starkweather did not possess a brilliant mind, 
nor had he the comprehensive, broad, and commanding- 
intellect which forces immediate success in the profession 
which he had chosen. But, perhaps what was better, he 
was a. devoted student, and possessed habits of untiring 
industry, which, before he arrived at middle age, enabled 
him to assume a fair position at the bar of his county, 
which numbered among its members some of the ablest 
men in the State. 

Mr. Starkweather was but once a member of the 
Connecticut Legislature, and therefore, when elected to 
the Fortieth Congress, his legislative experience was small. 

He served through the Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty- 
second, and Forty-third Congresses, and, by the same 
untiring industry which had characterized his professional 
life, he became an eminently useful member of the House. 
As a working member he had no superior, and though 
in his speeches never rising to eloquence, he always had 
the ear and commanded the high respect of his fellow- 
members. 

Living in another part of the State, attached to another 
political organization, my relations with Mr. Stark- 
weather were not of an intimate character, but always 



Lll'K AND CUAKACTKK ol' IIK.MJV U. STAKKWEATIIEK. 41 



friendly. I bad learned to regard him as one of the lead- 
ing minds in his own political party, and respected him 
accordingly. 

Of high personal character, 1 shall be fully warranted 
in saying that these who knew him best loved liim most. 

Not fifty years of age when called from this sphere of 
action, in the full maturity of his physical and intellectual 
power, his friends, the people of hi* State, entertained high 
hopes c»f his future conduct on the great theater whereon 
they had i)laced him. 

But, sir, he has been called hence, and with sincere and 
truthful soiTow I mourn the loss of a valued colleague, 
and bis State an eminent and trusted public servant. 

Mr. President, I beg leave to offer the following resolu- 
tion: 

litnolriil. That as ail additional mark of respect lor tlie memory 
of Mr. Stakkwkatueh, late a member of the House of Repre- 
iM'iitatives, the Si-iiate do now adjourn. 

The resolutiou was agi-eed to unanimously; and (atfour 
o'clock and forty minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned. 



^ 







MI'MORIAL ADDRESSES 

ON IHE 

^IFE AND Character 

OF 

IIi:xR\' II. Starkweather 

( A RKPkESENTATIVK FROM CONNECTICUT. ) 

DKUVtKSD IN THE 

Sknati: and II<»i si; oi' lli;ri;i:si:NTATiM:s, 
February 24. 1876. 



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